Why do people gamble even when the risks are high?

Question

What drives people to gamble large sums of money or even their entire fortunes, despite the high risks involved?

Answer 1

People are driven to gamble even when the risks are high due to the psychological effects of the 'scarcity loop' and the excitement of potential rewards. The unpredictability of gambling outcomes and the possibility of a big win can be thrilling and can hijack the same reward pathways in the brain that evolved to help us survive. Additionally, phenomena like 'near misses' and 'losses disguised as wins' in gambling can create the illusion of success and encourage continued play. These factors, combined with the inherent human attraction to risk and reward, can lead to people gambling large sums of money.

Comments

As someone who used to work in gambling industry i can say it is truly horrifying what gambling addiction can reduce a human into. If im being honest, it can be as bad as worst heroin addict. Self-destructive to the point where you do not even notice the suffering you cause to your family.

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Been working as a dealer for the past year. The amount of people who blow all of their money is numbing. The only time I feel really terrible is when I am given a significant tip after a player wins and then they continue blow all of their winnings and leave pissed off. I end up leaving with more money than them despite it being upwards of 10k+ at times. Also, it's not just the money that people lose that is absurd, it's the time. I work at California Card Room which has a maximum 20 hour limit that you can be in the establishment. Many people hit their 20 hour mark, sleep in their car, and come back during my next shift.

Funny thing is I joined the casino because I found an interest in Texas Hold'em. Once I became a dealer I realized I have no interest in gambling. Players ask me if I play, I lie and tell them I keep it to Vegas. Really I don't gamble at all.

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I know a great man who was a good father, husband, grandfather, and small business owner. He never drank, or used drugs. Was never abusive. He was my baseball coach for 8yrs and my best friends dad. They lived across the street from me growing up.  I lost touch over the years, but I seen him on a CAESARS COMMERCIAL on television about 10yrs ago. I thought why os he on their commercial? Well I ran into him at the baseball park this past summer. Exchanged hellos and caught up. Then I mentioned, I seen you on the TV. He said son, I almost lost everything. He said by yhe grace of God his family didnt abandon him. HE LOST OVER 5 MILLION DOLLARS. HIS ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS, Ceasars treated him with free food, free rooms, everything to keep him coming. He won some here and there, but THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.

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I worked for a casino for 9 years. They showed us videos of the addicted gamblers and how to deal with them. The crazy part is that they know the psychology behind gambling addiction, yet they cater to every aspect of it. They have gambling addiction pamphlets but imagine if you gave that to one of their "VIPs" who contribute hundreds of thousands if not millions to their profits. I doubt it would end well between employee and employer. These casinos are reliant on addictive gamblers. I've literally watched people lose their businesses and companies over the gambling addiction.

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Worked in a casino for 13 years and gambling is a real addiction that ruins live and people can lose it all on one night but usually its a slow killed

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The only part missing here is once the casino has you hooked on return incentives, they raise the level of play it takes to keep the same incentives you’ve become accustomed to. Case in point; Caesar’s has VIP lounges in most of their casinos where player who rate get to drink and eat for free whenever they are open. So players will risk thousands upon thousands of dollars to keep this perk alive every year when they could just buy drinks and food for themselves, saving thousands of dollars. It’s like a form of “peer pressure” to keep status levels high.

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As a casino worker I can say casinos are not meant to make you rich . You want to save money stay home .

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The absolute WORST thing that can happen to you when you gamble is to win big. The massive dopamine hit will get you chasing that high until you lose everything.

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He describes the functions casinos use to keep people on a machine.. I worked armed security in a casino for years and I'm telling ya, the most depraved of people haunt them... I've dealt with desperate people, drug and alcohol addicted, theives, lost souls and the potential for them banking keeps them coming and playing...it becomes very difficult for them to leave the place with even a nickel left in their pockets. You'll see one person jackpot and it's like a drop of blood in the sea to sharks... the dopamine and adrenaline is thick for gambler, whom we called "customers". I watched on my 3rd shift for over a week's time the same person, in the same clothes,  never leave a machine, practically starve themselves... Some people, if they needed to go to the restroom, the attendants would stand at the machine for them, if they needed to eat, the attendant would lock the machine for them, if they been stuffing money in like a Rockefeller... we kept busy with medical calls.. alot due to diabetics not watching their blood sugar, fights at the tables, and the occasional cardiac arrests and a few deaths at the machines, too.

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I worked as a security guard in a casino for a year and when someone approaches you saying they need help is very sad as they just feel helpless and have to be banned from the casino

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I'm blessed to have witnessed friends fall into destructive gambling habits at an early age. When you SEE the full process of someone falling into the addiction, it builds an immense mental bulwark against succumbing to it yourself. Even knowing this, I've gone and gambled for fun, and when you're aware of it all, when you begin having a little fun and the excitement builds, you can snap yourself out of the trance and say "That's enough". A lot of people do not have that willpower; the craving seizes them, and they're under its control. It's a strange feeling.

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I had a buddy when we worked construction on the road years back, and any town that had gambling, he was there all night long after work, no sleep.  He was adamant that he always won money.  When we asked him why does he keep gambling when perceivably spending all his money he just made, he seemed to have the "losses disguised as wins" outlook.  I think he would win a decent amount of money here and there but failed to take into consideration all the money he dumped into it beforehand.  Humans are dumb.

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there's a great episode of The Twilight Zone that explores the mindset of a man in the throes of a gambling addiction. The machine starts talking to him, teasing him and playing with his ego. It's a really good watch.

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I’m sure I’d be a gambling addict if I ever won anything.  The last time I was in a casino a few years ago my plan was to get up 20 bucks and walk.  I legit almost lost every single bet , lost like 12 in a row.  Blew 100 bucks in less than 10 minutes couldn’t even finish my beer.

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I worked at a store with a "skills" machine once, and the maximum prize was only $2,000-$2,200. Some guy spent $1800 on the machine one day with no winnings then complaines to us that something is wrong with our machines. But he's the one who spent $1800 knowing that he was only gonna be up $400 or less if he even did get the jackpot.

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I sat down at a black jack table back in the early 80's when they had dollar tables.  I had $100 worth of chips.  I played and lost the entire $100 in about 5 minutes.  The dealer asked if I wanted to keep playing.  He said I played all of my hands according to the book that I just had unlucky turns of the cards.  I thought about it for about 1 second and told him that it took a lot longer to earn that $100 than it did to lose it, and I walked away.  Every time I go to Vegas or Reno, I visit the casinos with friends, but I don't "gamble".  I hang out, maybe get a few drinks or some food.  Maybe I'll see a show.  My money never hits the tables or gets dropped into the machines.

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My grandma basically lives in our casino. Plays almost everyday because it is only a mile down the road. Loses all her money but wins jackpots and drawings that gets some of it back. She told me that it is not about the money, it is about getting out to visit her friends.

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remember the movie, lost in america.  albert brooks' wife in the movie loses their whole nest egg.

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I worked security at a small casino and I enjoyed it.  It was mostly the same regulars that were retired and needed something to do.  It amazed me that the place never closed its 24/7 & 365 no matter what.

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Yes, I have worked in casinos for 36 years and gamblers play because first, they feel they're doing something productive like working but mostly because they are in need of feeling pain and self-defeat. Plus, so much more. I used to be like one belonging in this category.

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As a person who plays VLTs you are mostly right. If you're going in there and not regulating yourself then you will lose lots before you win once and then you'll gamble it away again.  Big wins are few and far between and with the inability to regulate oneself, it is always disastrous. In reality they should be banned but that will never happen.

I only play once and awhile and with low amounts a 5 a 10 or a 20 and so far I've learned this. There are 4 things that can happen: 1. you lose the money, 2. you win the money you put in, 3. you double the money you put in or 4. You win big. If you play unregulated there's only one thing that will happen you will lose bigly.

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What a horrible addiction to have. I remember my moms friend, as a kid stole my brothers paperboy money because of her addiction to gambling. My mom punched her out. But? Apparently that didn't affect her too much. She went on to actually lose everything. Her marriage, home and right to drive. Horrible.

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I had a buddy that worked with a woman who every day at lunch break would walk over to a grocery store near their office and buy scratch off tickets. She would scratch them off at her desk during lunch, usually instead of eating. One day she won $7,000 on a ticket. My friend said how excited she had to be to win that amount of money. She sat there for a second and said "It's not that much if I think about how much I've spent on these tickets over the years". She had the awareness to know she was just blowing her money on those tickets but she continued to do it.

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Don’t ever let the system trick you into thinking you have a “gambling problem” everybody has a gambling problem , when you walk out the door of your home the game begins.

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Casinos are not built and maintained with  winners money.

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Most gambling addicts had some kind of positive winning experience the first time or two they gambled.  As a result, they are chasing that first high.  Most people who gamble and lose money the first couple of times develop a negative view about it.  But man, if you win that first time or two, you get it in your head that you are lucky, and you want to feel that high all over again.

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The only thing I can say I was addicted to was gambling. I worked at a casino at the time and saw people winning jackpots throughout the day and thought to myself that I could do the same. I had to go to a competitor casino to gamble, but I was practically living there. Luckily for me I was only hooked for 2-3 months. For me I noticed it felt personal while I was inside the casino, but as soon as I left my brain would react differently. I no longer gamble at all. Not even Powerball. I don’t miss it.

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i been to the casino like 5 times i only bring like $100. i lost 1 time playing blackjack. every other time i walked out with at least $500 or more playing slots. one time i hit for $700 and had a crowd forming but then some worker stood behind me and i started loosing so i pulled out right away. than noticed the worker walk up behind anyone winning and them suddenly start to loose.

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I worked security at a big casino in Reno for awhile. It's a very predatory business. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I used to enjoy gambling before I worked there. Now it's something I just avoid. There are an endless number of better ways to spend your time and money than sitting in a casino.

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My father is a victom of it. He spend all his money he had saved on casinos. That wasn‘t enough he went out to get multiple credits just to be able to play again. All this while he has a family to feed. We watched him go down this path and what I found interesting is that people who do these repetitive habits just don‘t care at all about anything in this life except for that casino.!

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My sister in law lost her son in his early 20's.  She and her sister always went gaming together.  When my nephew passed, her gaming increased. She told me, "I am still pissed my son died!"  " When I play the slots I don't think about anything else.!"  I thought I would never play slots.  I like to get a cup of coffee and play the slots for fun after thinking I was a good blackjack player!  I am glad my sister in law gets some relief. Can't even imagine how it would feel to loose a son or daughter.  People my say it's a poor way to deal with grief.  Loose a son then let me know.

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When I had no money and "nothing to lose", I gambled all the time. When I started making money, enough to buy a house and save for the future, I was one of the fortunate ones who could walk away from it completely.

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I love going to Vegas and playing roulette.  It's usually very social and $200 can often last all evening if you keep betting the table minimum.  It also doesn't bother me when I lose it all.  Why?  Because I go there EXPECTING to lose it all.  I just want to have as much fun as possible during the process.  Also, I never gamble more than I can afford to lose.

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Even when I hear all the reasons I shouldn't gamble, it makes me want to go gamble for the tiny chance of a big win. Being human is hard.

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Casinos rely on greed and addiction. Walk away as soon as you win, and you'll always be in the green. I visit family in Vegas every year, and have never went home negative because I choose to stop once I start winning, and never risk it for more.

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We had a family member who's spouse, who previously controlled the finances, died.  Once on his own, he proceeded to gamble away into the low 6-figures worth of money.  10 months later, he, too, was dead and we had to pick up the pieces, pay his taxes, and dispose of his property.  Gambling establishments ruin lives.  Their victims aren't stupid, they are being conned by casinos.